Climate change, human displacement, international law and justice

The thesis investigates how a justice framework is relevant to analysis of the role of international law in relation to climate change-induced human displacement. In particular, through the application of a justice framework, questions of responsibility will be explored. It will be argued that such a lens alters conceptualisations of the role international law may play, or should play, in relation to the phenomenon. Specific justice theories selected are corrective and distributive justice, which will be explored in a substantial theoretical chapter forming the analytical backbone of the thesis. The theories then inform the more contextualised analysis about the role of international law in relation to climate change-induced displacement. Corrective justice permits analysis of whether climate change-induced displacement, or the livelihood impacts that precede it, could be conceived as (wrongful) damage or harm which is compensable under international law, either through fault-based regimes or no-fault regimes (i.e. insurance). Distributive justice permits analysis of whether climate change-induced displacement could potentially be framed as an undeserved and disproportionate burden which stipulates international action to rebalance it, through distributing either costs or burdens. The thesis hopes to contribute to the growing scholarship concerning international law and climate change-induced displacement by investigating the bounds of the law where the phenomenon is viewed as one of responsibility and of justice

The future is now: Climate displacement and human rights obligations—a note on recent developments in the UN Human Rights Committee

Although climate litigation—or the pursuit of legal resolve of matters stemming from anthropogenic climate change—has been growing around the world, climate mobility is seldom at the heart of relevant case law. It is human rights law bodies, in particular, which have nevertheless begun to progress legal developments in the sphere of climate mobility. This note looks at a 2022 determination by the UN Human Rights Committee concerning the habitability of a small island setting—Australia's Torres Strait Islands—under climate change conditions and the legal responsibilities of nation states to abide by their international human rights obligations in implementing timely adaptation measures now which could help to ensure continued habitation

Transformative mobilities in the Pacific: Promoting adaptation and development in a changing climate

Climate change is affecting Pacific life in significant and complex ways. Human mobility is shaped by climate change and is increasingly positioned by international agencies, policymakers, and governments as having an important role in both climate change adaptation and human development. We consider the potential for human mobility to promote adaptation and development among Pacific people in a changing climate. We argue that where Pacific people choose mobility, this should be supported and create opportunities that are responsive to the histories and existing patterns of mobility and place attachment among Pacific Islanders; commence from a position of climate and development justice; and advance human rights and socio-political equity. Transformative mobilities are where mobility, adaptation, and development intersect to achieve the best possible outcomes for cultural identity, human rights, adaptation, and human development goals across scales and in origin and destination sites

Transformative mobilities in the Pacific: Promoting adaptation and development in a changing climate

Climate change is affecting Pacific life in significant and complex ways. Human mobility is shaped by climate change and is increasingly positioned by international agencies, policymakers, and governments as having an important role in both climate change adaptation and human development. We consider the potential for human mobility to promote adaptation and development among Pacific people in a changing climate. We argue that where Pacific people choose mobility, this should be supported and create opportunities that are responsive to the histories and existing patterns of mobility and place attachment among Pacific Islanders; commence from a position of climate and development justice; and advance human rights and socio-political equity. Transformative mobilities are where mobility, adaptation, and development intersect to achieve the best possible outcomes for cultural identity, human rights, adaptation, and human development goals across scales and in origin and destination sites

Las distintas movilidades de las comunidades en las islas del Pacífico

Los tipos de movilidad en las islas del Pacífico son varios y distintos. Los estudios de caso en la región nos permiten ver cuáles son las acciones y las voluntades de las personas, los hogares y las comunidades a la luz de una vulnerabilidad por cuestiones climáticas en rápido aumento

The elusive archaeology of Kongo urbanism: the case of Kindoki, Mbanza Nsundi (Lower Congo, DRC)

We present here results, analyses and an in-depth historical contextualisation of the fieldwork undertaken in 2012 and 2013 at the Kindoki site in the Lower Congo (DRC). This site is linked with Mbanza Nsundi, one of the Kongo Kingdom's provincial capitals, which turns out to be archaeologically 'elusive'. Pinpointing its location proved to be particularly challenging. To this end, a historically-informed excavation methodology was developed that was never implemented in Central Africa before. We combined a strategy of systematic test pits with a large-scale 50 m grid approach. A cemetery was identified on Kindoki Hill with distinct but contemporaneous quarters of a 16th-17thcenturies settlement on both sides. The cemetery itself contains mainly 18th-century burials, in all likelihood of successive Nsundi rulers. The foreign, especially Portuguese, ceramics excavated on the hilltop and the hundreds of Venetian and likely Bavarian beads found in the graves are indicative of Mbanza Nsundi's connection to trade routes linking the Atlantic coast with the Pool region. The most striking discovery is that of a previously unknown type of comb-impressed pottery, from a pit with a calibrated radiocarbon date AD 1294-1393 (2 sigma). This suggests that a settlement had been developing at Kindoki since at least the 14th century, which allows us, for the very first time, to spatially bridge Kongo history and 'prehistory'. For the entire Lower Congo region only three 14C dates posterior to AD 1000 were available before the start of the KongoKing project, twelve have been added for just Kindoki

Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors. Results Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged. Conclusions Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.Peer reviewe